I just recently cleared my place of much bullcrap and have consequently been able to keep cleaning up after myself moment to moment so it doesnt build up and its basically alwaya clean 🤩
I take a break from caffeine for a week every two months. I do the same with alcohol every month. It helps me stay objective about the amount I’m consuming. It helped me cut way back from pandemic-levels of coffee especially. Hoo, boy, I was one jittery, confined ball of anxiety and despair.
Pro tip: don’t schedule both during the same week.
Me and my wife have started doing Dry January. There was a study about how it led to drinking less year over year. I like it!
I’ve read similar. A full, continuous month would probably be more effective than my week-long dry spells, but I have alcohol-related hobbies (brewing, distilling, other fermentations) that I don’t want to shelve for that long. So more frequent week-long spells are for me.
Happy journey with your spouse, I hope it’s a positive for you!
Honestly the first couple times I would make exceptions for birthdays and whatnot but it’s gotten easier. Also in your case it seems like tasting booze for hobby purposes is different than having a drink… anyway good luck to you too!
like tasting booze for hobby purposes is different than having a drink…
Weeeeell, it’s a better excuse, innit?
- I used to brew beer as well and going completely dry when there’s delicious homebrews in the fridge isn’t as easy as when there are none.
I am, in a non-self deluded (I hope) way, a “social drinker”. I don’t keep any alcohol at home. I only drink around friends, and I keep company that does more things than just go to bars. This makes alcohol actually seem like more of an upbeat treat than something habitually consumed.
I took an involuntary tolerance break from cannabis for 4 days, and it reduced my daily intake by 90%
What do you mean involuntary? Did you get locked up or something?
I was traveling and the laws at my destination had changed since I’d last been there.
For 4 days? Sounds more like his dealer ran out.
I was locked up for 3-4 days in Finland for weed.
Jail =/= prison.
Or his bank account.
FYI caffeine and alcohol don’t actually build tolerance unless you really drink a lot.
It’s not about tolerance, it’s about monitoring how much I’m consuming so I don’t overdo it.
Having a place for things. Never having to look for “x”. Keys, wallet, which type of utensil goes in which slot in the silverware holder. I have saved so much time, avoided problems and given myself mental breaks by simply putting things where they’re needed and being consistent.
This was something I realised too (or similar). Having stuff also requires having space. If you don’t have space then you really shouldn’t have stuff.
When everything has its place, organisation, cleanliness and general liveability start to take care of themselves. And probably overconsumption and hoarding too.
It’s funny, because “insufficient space” or the “disregard to space” seem to be common themes for me in terms of how modern things are being done poorly.
If you don’t have space then you really shouldn’t have stuff.
You shut your pretty whore mouth!!!
nervously glances at my 6 tubs of amiibo and 4 tubs of G-Scale model trains in an apartment to small to sneeze in
Oh I’ve been there. I am there. I was not virtue signalling. It was a cry for help!
So much of modern life is about about inventory management.
I like old videos of tribespeople in tropical places. There’s always a guy just lying down in the jungle, doing nothing, with no stuff.
I second this.
It’s great having specific spots for things. I also have a specific bag for when I go to the gym with its own set of earbuds and other gym ephemera.
I’m trying to extend/apply this in a way that if I need to put down something, I think ahead of set places in the house where I put things. That way of I’ve left something somewhere, it’ll always be in one particular place in a room. That way I don’t have to look everywhere for a thing I just put down in order to do something. I only need to look at one or two spots in each room.
Never use your phone in bed.
CBT (Cognitive behavior therapy). Get your your mind to associate bed with sleep, not with phone stimulation.
Ooh. Nice.
Good one.
I actually bought an alarm clock so I could turn my phone off at night, and now, I want to get a step counter so I can keep my phone off when I’m not using it period.
Good one.
I touch the bed, I sleep. My wife often pauses her Netflix to cuss at me for that, but i usually don’t notice anything.
I like this one. Followed it last night.
Force yourself to sneeze and cough inside your elbow all the time. Even when you’re alone. Then it becomes a reflex and you’ll protect those around you from infection a lot better.
Drink a glass of water upon waking up.
Twenty years ago someone mentioned this to me, how the body tends to be dehydrated upon waking and that’s part of why waking up sucks.
Since then I’ve been drinking a glass of water almost immediately after waking up.
+1 to this and taking it up a notch: as I grow older have to pee once at night and I get that glass of water in before returning to sleep.
Hacks 👴👌
I used to lose my keys until I decided to stop losing my keys because they always go “right here.”
“Don’t put it down, put it away” is a mentality I came across recently and am trying to incorporate into my life, because putting something down means it’s gone forever according to my brain.
That’s a nice phrase. For me, when I’m done with something, very often the place it goes is wherever I am right now. Counter, desk, table, top of the dresser. They all work and then things pile up.
Putting stuff in a calendar. Now that I’ve started doing it, I’m not sure how people live without it. I have too much stuff going on to remember exactly when things are happening and some of them are scheduled weeks or months in advance. Everything has to go in the calendar app. For things that are further out, I set reminders one week and one day before. Other than that, I also check at the start of every week, and ofc I check whenever I need to schedule something.
This and the to-do list. My wife and I are totally committed to these. It really does make life a little bit easier.
Agree completely! I don’t know how people remember random Wednesday night plans without putting it on a calendar.
Plans just go in one ear and out the other unless I write them down immediately
Kinda a boring one but gym. Started a couple of years ago once a week and had to drag myself there but after a month or two of that something flipped and now I go almost every day. It’s pretty fun and it’s great to notice the change in myself over the last couple of years. Now just need to do something about diet and sleep.
I went to the gym for 4 days… And wasted 26 days of subscription fees :/
I second this. I am bad at breaking my habits or starting new ones so I just started going every weekday starting around the beginning of this year. I also started eating healthier. I feel freaking great. Lost 25lb, way more energy, joints don’t hurt as much… A lot of the “well, getting old sucks” things just went away after a while. Now that I’ve started the habit I have trouble not going to the gym.
That’s awesome! I was surprised at the shift between having to push myself to go vs having a natural pull to go. Definitely makes a huge difference and seeing/feeling changes happening is so motivating.
Flossing I guess.
It reduces the risk of heart disease! Very important.
Remember, you are most likely to die from heart disease.
Really? How the heck does that work out?
The rubbish that gets into your teeth / gums can then get into your blood stream. From there it can travel to your heart and cause issues.
Well that’s good to know. Thanks!
You’ve already got a better answer, but let me encourage you to remember your circulation whenever you think of your dental health to help motivate you to build and maintain those good habits.
Flossing seems mundane, but really it’s helping you with the most important risk factors for the things that are most likely to kill us.
Eh. I always saw myself as most likely to die with a shotgun in my mouth, and pulling the trigger with my toes.
It’s not, it’s almond milk. Even the gray aliens won’t touch the stuff.
this is an important one. i nearly died when a tooth bacterial infection spread up my trigeminal nerve. not to mention the pain.
Water flossing! It’s like a bidet for your teeth.
bidet for your teeth
I thought the instructions were clear, but here I kneel in the bathroom with a wet face, soaked shirt, and still a popcorn kernel stuck between my molars.
No, I think you got that right. Just keep going and you’ll get that popcorn kernel eventually.
At least you didn’t power wash the walls like I did the other day. Forgot where the off button was.
I had one but the hose broke, so now it dispenses milk for the cat through the fridge door when we’re away.
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Journaling.
It’s extremely powerful from mental health to actual planning tasks and keeping track of things but weirdly enough it can be difficult to get into.My best advice would be to make it as easy and as low stakes as possible at the beginning. Just open file/journal and write anything every day, even if it’s one word. Don’t worry about anything else. Then you can add and evolve this habbit to whatever feels useful to you.
When I feel bad, I clean. If I’m going to feel like crap anyway, might as well get some use out of it.
Walking places instead of driving.
Yes! It gets addictive too. You start to like being able to just walk to everything you need. So independent and flexible and relaxing!
Or cycling!
I do this for anything nearby (including work) but oh my God it’s so hot right now. And also the rainy season.
Want an electric bike by the time the rains end but have saved only 1/10 of the price so far they are so expensive.
What about umbrellas?
I have one but when I say rain, I don’t mean a light rain shower, there is a lot of lightning and wind. No big deal, mornings are usually clear, I walk in then if needed get a ride home. (E-bike won’t help in those situations at all) But I agree with you, moving at a human pace is a good habit, it feels good and is good for you, improves sleep too. I just am irritated arriving at work sweaty.
Paying attention to what you’re doing. Sounds simple but so many people don’t do it. They just keep doing the same thing and act surprised when it never works. If you pay attention to what you do and the outcome of your actions, you can improve everything you do and become very efficient.
I think this is related to meditation too. I always find it makes life feel more spacious and calm when I do it.
Listening to audiobooks!
I always listen to podcasts and audiobooks while I am driving to office :D
I love my local library because they’re keeping me sane on my work commute! I looove audiobooks and it’s so nice to be able to try so many and not have to worry about if I will like them because it’s all free!!!
Libby and your library card.
I read for like 10 minutes every morning on my iPad with the Libby app (usually) and it’s great. I’ve read so many books now!
I play videogames while I drive to the office. (Decent) public transport is great like that. Auďiobooks are indeed great for driving though. I listened to about 300 books per year when I was an international driver.
I’m currently learning Spanish on my morning drive, it feels very rewarding not to just waste time.
you learn Spanish while driving? that’s interesting…
I always avoid learning something while driving because I can’t focus while I am driving.
Drinking a couple glasses of water immediately when I wake up.
Wakes me up, gets rid of the tired dont-wanna-open eyes.
Probably ensures you don’t go back to sleep too, at least not for long.
Cold water works especially well for this! I do ice water with a straw to not shock my teeth
Meditating
